Abstract
Bioethanol is a renewable fuel which is manufactured through different methods of agricultural fermentation. Since it is a renewable source of energy, today, bioethanol is used as fuel directly or in blends in internal combustion engines. In the present study, the effect of bioethanol-gasoline blends on vehicle performance and exhaust emissions was investigated on a vehicle having a spark ignition engine. Gasoline was tested alone and in blends containing 2, 20 and 30% bioethanol by volume and the test results were compared among each other. As the result of the study, it was found out that the use of gasoline and gasoline-bioethanol blends as fuel did not cause a significant change in the vehicle performance, but with regard to exhaust emissions; it was determined that as the amount of bioethanol in the fuel increased, there occurred a nearly 85% decrease in the amount of CO, an approximately 20% decrease in the amount of CO2, a 25% increase in the amount of HC and a nearly twofold increase in the amount of O2 existing in the exhaust gases. Increases of approximately 10% were observed in the specific fuel consumption of the vehicle depending on the increase of the percentage of bioethanol in the fuel.
Keywords: Bioethanol-gasoline blends, emission, vehicle performance